Actress June Fairchild, know for her roles in “Up in Smoke” and “Thunderbolt and Lightfoot”, died Tuesday in Los Angeles from complications related to liver cancer. Fairchild appeared in several films in the 1970’s, and it appeared she had the ability to become a star before addiction came into her life. Fairchild’s drug and alcohol addiction led to her living in a cardboard box on skid row in Los Angeles.
Stories such as this highlight the destructive nature of substance abuse addiction. Going from appearing in films alongside Clint Eastwood to living in a cardboard box shows addiction affects everyone, and is detrimental to everyone.
Stories like this often don’t get as much notoriety as other celebrity drug stories. A well-known celebrity getting in trouble with the law or overdosing, while in the prime of their career, provides a juicier storyline. However, stories such as this probably show the nature of addiction in its truest form. There is a good chance addiction will lead to overdose or getting arrested, but it is a certainty that addiction will negatively affect the trajectory of your life. For every rock star that dies from a drug overdose, there are probably dozens of individuals who had promising careers that drifted into obscurity before their careers took off due to addiction. Many tragic Hollywood addiction stories happen when the camera is no longer around.
All addicts, regardless of their place in life, suffer from a gravitation pull towards rock bottom. This downward life trajectory may be “televised”, it may not. Many times, only recovery can reverse the downward trend. If you have an addiction, and would like to learn how to our program can help, contact us for more information.